


that crummy summer we had

by crickets



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-20
Updated: 2012-07-20
Packaged: 2017-11-10 11:11:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/465602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crickets/pseuds/crickets





	that crummy summer we had

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stainofmylove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stainofmylove/gifts).



_"Can you keep a secret?"_

Gale is pretty certain that she never said those words, but the memory of her whispering them into his ear -- her arms around his neck, her lips against his throat -- is so strong that he sometimes has trouble telling the truth from fiction.

But he knows, he knows, _he knows_.

That's not how they operate.

-

This is how it goes.

Katniss has always been the one to let him talk. He rants and raves and gets angry and he feels free because it's just her around, there in the woods where they hunt. There's no one else, not even any mockingjays, to carry what he says back into the real world that they endure when they're not alone together.

But now, _after everything_? After Prim? After the world changes?

Gale's simply run out of things to say.

So they skin rabbits and they don't use words, and Katniss reaches out and touches the back of his neck, and sometimes they even kiss. Okay, _most times_ they kiss. But they never, ever talk about it.

_If a tree falls in the woods..._

Gale's not even sure there's a secret to keep at all.

-

When he tells her he's leaving, he doesn't say _I can't wait anymore, Katnip_ and he doesn't say, _I've always loved you_ , and he definitely doesn't say, _Give me a reason_.

In fact, he doesn't say much of anything, really.

_Katniss knows all this._

He's got a bag slung across his shoulder when he meets her in the meadow and she nods and lowers her head and takes his hand, leading him deep into the woods.

"Before you go."

This, she _does_ say, and Gale grabs her by the waist and leaves bruises on her hips and he secretly hopes that Peeta can taste him on her lips when she goes home that night.

She watches him dress, her eyes tracing the outline of him, and there's this streak of anger painted across her face, and Gale can almost not believe that she could possibly blame him for finally taking off -- for getting out, just like they'd planned all those years ago. But then, he realizes... _It's not him she blames._

He touches her face, but he doesn't say goodbye, and he doesn't kiss her, and he doesn't stay long enough to see her cry.

_He walks away._

Katniss says his name, but it only half comes out. 


End file.
